The Changing Numbers - The Unknown Sekirei
by FintonStack
Summary: Murasaki is a recently accepted University student who has a nightmare of an afternoon. In the same afternoon she meets a man who will change her life forever. Neiyo is not a normal man by any means, he is a Sekirei, but one that Hiroto Minaka never found. He has never been adjusted, never been limited in his power. What secrets does he hold for both the world and the one he loves?
1. Fate Dawns

The Changing Numbers

A Sekirei fanfiction story about a new Sekirei, one who had previously had no number or designation. This story is a twist to the current story and will have some surprising features in it as it follows a female Ashikabi and her male Sekirei.

**I do not own Sekirei!**

**Chapter 1: Fate Dawns**

The year is 2020, July 2nd and was just before the summer break began. Japan was bussling full of people and never stopped being lively, even late at night, albeit gradually getting more dangerous.

Murasaki was walking down the main street in Shinto Teitou (New Tokyo), the Capital of Japan. It was the middle of the afternoon, and she went to see if she had passed her entrance exam into Tokyo University. She went up to the wooden board that had her designated student number on it.

She let out a sigh of relief. _I passed! I passed it first time!_ Her thoughts gave way to joy in her system and a huge smile came over her face.

Murasaki Yatsu was a beautiful girl, bordering on the age of 19, in a few weeks she would be. She had dark blue hair that stretched to her waist, it contrasted her scarlet coloured eyes. To some she looked unnecessarily evil with them, but her heart held no contempt for anyone.

Her hand dived into her front right pocket and pulled out a phone that she immediately flipped open. It let out a couple of rings.

"Hi Dad! I passed, I got into Uni!" She blurted over the phone with happiness. "That's great hun, let me know when it's about to start and I'll bump your allowance up. Unfortunately I'm about to go into a meeting so I'll speak later, love you, bye!" _It wouldn't kill him to put some time in for me at least..._ She thought to herself momentarily, almost getting angry by the fact her father never gave her any attention, not even when she did well.

She suddenly heard another phone start ringing to the right of her. She turned and saw a young guy who looked a bit older than herself talking to someone.

"Hi Mom, sorry I didn't get in again..." She continued to listen and watch the young man walk off. "I don't know, I'll call you back in a couple of days, I need to think about it."

_Wow, tough break for him if he failed more than once. I wouldn't want to be his mother... It's a shame, he doesn't look like a bad guy, nor a stupid one._

Murasaki had no time to ponder over such things and made her way home to grab some dinner. She made her way through some alleys that she used as shortcuts, many were backwynds that cut through apartment blocks.

On the third short cut through an apartment block three men jumped her blocking her escape and front. "Well, what have we here..." one of them said in a mischivious tone.

"Let me go!" Murasaki screamed taking out her phone, beginning to dial numbers for the police.

_SMACK! _One of the men behind her lunged at her and smacked the phone out of her hands, smashing it to the ground in pieces.

"Wh-What do you want?" she asked hesitantly. She was obviously scared, it never occurred to her that this could even happen to her in such a big city where so many people were about. But it was also at this time she noticed, there was no one, not a single living thing besides her and the three men beside her.

One of them motioned toward her, letting off a sadistic chuckle. "Some... playtime..." The man put his hands in front of him, going toward her ample bosom in a squeezing motion.

Her eyes widened in horror as she had no escape and nor could see one. He approached closer and she swung her hand that had become clenched in an effort to knock him out. She missed and he retaliated, slapping her across the face. This led her to stumble and slouch against the wall.

Trying to recover the third man grabbed her arms and held them behind her. "Nooo! Stop it!" she screamed. They all let off laughs that could even make a mad scientist sound sane.

Suddenly a loud smash could be heard behind the first criminal, and smoke entered the alleyway creating coughing from the men and Murasaki.

"You will not harm her!" A voice shouted out of the smoke and debris.

As the smoke cleared an outline of a man became visible, he was crouched with one hand in the ground still. He was in a bronze armour with two visible Japanese swords on his left side of the waist.

One of the men cried; "And who the hell are you to tell us what we can't do!?", "Haha, time to take your special effects with you to hell!" another snarled.

The smoke had fully cleared and the man in the silver-black armour, not thick but covered the man as he stood up fully, Murasaki noted he was incredibly tall, at least standing 6'7 feet. He towered the other men who were much smaller. His face was slightly hidden by a hood but parts of his silver hair curled out of it.

The man also didn't look like he was from Japanese descent, which prompted Murasaki to wonder his reasoning here, not that she would complain, he had saved her from a gruesome afternoon.

"You threaten, not only a defenceless person, but a woman aswell. Shameful, I should teach you three a lesson." He pulled out his swords, both edged with imprints of dragons on.

He stood in a combat stance, one pointed away from him, and the other behind his back pointed upwards, in a backward way of holding it. He waved his hands in an odd fashion over his swords. A moment later they started glowing with a smoke effect over them.

"This is ridiculous! Let's end this!" The three started running toward him. The unknown figure suddenly plunged his main sword into the ground shouting "Smoke Tremor!".

Cracks in the ground started to appear from his sword and created a path toward the men, who were send upward in a flurry of smoke and landed in a heap on the ground. Defeated they lay there still and groaning. The man stood over them, about to plunge his sword into them lifting his arms up.

"No! Don't kill them!" Murasaki yelled with a last ounce of energy. The man stood confused, but did not argue and sheathed his swords. Murasaki finally lost her energy and fainted with the strange outcome of the situation.

END OF CHAPTER 1  
_


	2. The Wiser Man, Is Often The Older Man

Chapter 2: The wiser man, is often the older man.

Murasaki began to stir and opened her eyes. She started to panic realizing that this was not her apartment. She started to breath deeply trying to calm herself down whilst looking around. The apartment was clean, not totally dust-free exactly but to a certain standard was good enough to her.

"Ah, you're awake. I was starting to get worried." a familiar voice sounded behind her.

She panicked and turned around in shock. A man was sitting behind her, a newspaper in his lap with a cup of coffee on the small table to the right side of him. She looked at him, but there was no panic in her eyes anymore, she felt strangely calm.

_This man blatantly doesn't want to hurt me, otherwise he would have done so... I guess I also have him to thank for saving me yesterday._

"And who do I have the pleasure of addressing, Mr...?"

The man smiled, "Call me Neiyo, please. I should be asking you the same question, Miss?"

She blushed a little at the good manners, "O-Oh, ah my name is Murasaki. Murasaki Yatsu."

He nodded, "Well Miss Yatsu, you certainly got into a bit of a pickle yesterday. How are you feeling?" _Why do I feel so strange when I'm near this girl. She looks almost half my age, but I can't help but feel... drawn to her. I haven't felt like this since..._ He quickly shook his head hearing her reply.

"Then I have you to thank. I was on my way home and they jumped me. I don't know what their intentions were but none of them good blatantly."

"Mention nothing of it," he motioned, "I was created to help those who cannot help themselves." _Shit, I should not have said that!_

"...created?" Murasaki muttered. "Pardon my intrusion, but what do you mean?"

Neiyo sighed, too late to realize that he couldn't revert the mistake he made. "Well, I've made by bed, I guess I better lie in it. But first, I need to ask you a question." Murasaki nodded as if to accept the proposal made to her, awaiting the question.

"What do you think of me right now?" _What do I... think of him? What does he mean by that? Do I like him... or how do I see him?_ She started looking at him more closely, the left side of his face was hidden by a shadow, and only his right eye, shaded in a hazel colour was visible. He also had a small scar over his eye as if from a previous fight or accident.

She thought carefully about what she was going to say for a moment. "I'm sorry, but that's a very loaded question to put on someone after just meeting." "Understandable. The reason I ask, is because, in order to explain who I am, I need to know how you feel." He sat forward for a moment and took a drink from his coffee. "I... I guess I like you. I mean, you haven't done anything bad to me otherwise you would have done so. You saved be yesterday so I owe you for that. And you are, from what I can see, a handsome man."

This reply seemed to tick all Neiyo's applied boxes. Neiyo sat forward again, this time revealing all his face from the shadow. "Ha... have you ever loved someone before?" She was shocked by the bluntness of the question, slowly shaking her head as her reply. He sat backward into his chair, "Do you think you could love a man such as me?"

This almost felt like interrogation to Murasaki. On one side, she felt like she had to answer him, but on the other side she felt like questioning it. She studied him for a moment. Overall he was a good looking man, and had the looks of a man most would die for. She felt her heart wrench for a moment. Her brain suddenly realized that this man had saved her from something vile and treated her more humanly than even her father did.

"Maybe I could. I don't really know you though, maybe a date?" she propositioned.

Neiyo smiled, a change from his serious face for once. "That sounds fair. I guess I can't complain given the situation."

_She didn't give me a straight answer, but didn't decline it either..._ Neiyo thought to himself.

He had been looking for his Ashikabi for a while now, sometimes believing it to be a joke as his searching had come back empty every night up till now. As she got up and he gestured a seat he felt his heart pound, and his body slowly become more heated. _Well, one thing's for sure. I am definitely reacting to this girl._

Neiyo had originally offered her a place to sleep but Murasaki rejected it politely and said she would meet him at the Shun-Kei restaurant in the city center at eight the following night. He agreed and said he looked forward to it. Murasaki decided to go the city route home, not taking any shortcuts this time (she vowed to never take one again).

As nighttime crept into the day, she started to feel sleepy and retired for the night. She found it incredibly difficult to sleep. The same image of Neiyo coming up in her mind the whole time. _Why am I still thinking about this guy? I know nothing about him and this date will probably just be a means to an end._ Eventually she drifted off to sleep and found herself waking up to her alarm the next day.

**8pm the ****next day day.**

Murasaki arrived first at the restaurant, sitting at the table she had booked for them. She waited for five minutes then began to wonder if he was going to turn up. She turned to her left to watch the entrance of the restaurant as a tall figure showed up, in a black suit and smart shoes, almost boot like but short. The waiter directed him to the table that Murasaki was sitting at and he sat down.

"Sorry I'm late, something came up that I had to take care of." Neiyo smiled apologetically.

"It's alright, but I was on the verge of leaving if you hadn't turned up." she remarked.

_I'll have to remember the short patience she has then,_ Neiyo noted to himself.

The two ordered their respective meals and began their evening getting to know each other. Murasaki had noticed that Neiyo didn't give a surname when he introduced himself, I wonder why... does he even have one? She was not about to ask him an intrusive question such as that, especially when they had just started.

They began speaking about their lives, and Murasaki started describing her father, always working with very little effort made to care for her besides giving her an allowance for a place to stay and eat. Neiyo motioned that at least he gave her that. "It could be worse." he opinioned. Murasaki didn't deny him that, it could've been. In that regard she was lucky, she just wished she could see him more often. "Could be far worse", he continued looking slightly glum with himself.

She finally questioned Neiyo on his upbringing. It was actually pretty heart wrenching for her. He had a tough life, alone and forced to fight for his own life but slowly began to help those who needed help like she had needed him. Neiyo had grown up on his own after his mother had passed away due to an accident which he relented to explain. _I feel like telling her the real me, but I can't... what if she rejects me?_ "I grew up like a street kid, I hung out with the wrong crowd then realized I wasn't normal."

His face slowly showed redness, indicating it was a touchy subject but also felt to Murasaki as if she had saw an inner Neiyo, like there was an interior personality, caring and emotional rather than the butch defender as he had introduced himself as. Murasaki sat back after leaning forward intently listening; I get the feeling there is more to him, but half of me wishes to be beside him forever, but the other half, more my common sense half doesn't wan't to get involved with him.

_He isn't telling me something, but I can't force it out of him._ They both sat there for another hour discussing events and lives of those they cared about. Murasaki told him of her father again who she did love but wished she'd spend more time with him. Neiyo took it as his opportunity to be honest with the girl.

"I have to be honest with you. How old do you think I am?" he asked.

"I- Uh, roughly... twenty-five?" The scarlet eyed girl replied.

Neiyo chuckled at the answer; "Unfortunately I'm older, actually I'm about forty." Her eyes widened with shock a bit. "F-forty?" she asked.

Neiyo nodded his head, a bit depressed with having to admit his age. "I-I'm sorry, I knew that was something stupid to admit to... I wish I had never said it." Neiyo was about to get up and walk out of embarrassment but Murasaki grabbed his left forearm.

"I never said it was something stupid. You look far younger than you are. Almost makes me jealous." Murasaki tried to make him feel better.

_Why do I care for this man so much? I never would have said that if I found out an older guy tried to take me out..._

"Very kind of you. But there is something else... something far greater to worry about in your case actually."

The silver haired warrior began. He hesitated, "I... I have a daughter. A bit older than you by the looks of things." he admitted. "Do-does that make it something stupid to admit?"

Murasaki wasn't as shocked as Neiyo thought she would be. The blue haired girl merely looked into the man's eyes. He sat their opposite in almost, fear of what her reaction would be. She simply smiled. "I don't really have a problem with that. What your past is, is yours to tell when you're ready."

_What the hell was that I just said?! He has a daughter now too?! and is older than my age!? This is not going to go down well. Yet... I'm still drawn to him. Am I starting to love this man? Is this what love feels like?_

Neiyo smiled, slightly leaning back into his chair with relief. "Look, I think the restaurant is about to close to let's pay and continue this another time?" Mura piped up. Neiyo nodded in agreement with a smile. They decided to part ways after leaving the restaurant. Murasaki had to clear her head in understanding of what she felt that evening. Neiyo had similar priorities but didn't seem to know how to react to them, what to do. They both tried to sleep that night, failing miserably.

END OF CHAPTER 2

A/N: Unfortunately the next chapter will be pretty slow, but short also. I'm just trying to introduce how their personalities are slowly but surely. And I apologize if those of you who are reading it want to get into it faster and quicker. I will also take in any suggestions from reviews. Peace out!


	3. God's Darkest Warrior

**I do not own Sekirei! If I did I would have gotten Season 3 out already :)**

**Chapter 3: God's Darkest Warrior **

Neiyo woke up in his apartment after a few hours of sleep when he heard a knocking at the door. He glanced at his swords behind the door and picked one up. He wasn't used to visitors and not many people knew where he lived.

The silver haired Sekirei pulled the handle inward slightly to see Murasaki, who looked incredibly tired, but in his eyes still the same pretty girl he had seen the day before.

"May I?" she asked, standing beside one of the chairs. "Of course. I presume this isn't just a social call." _How could it be?_ he chuckled.

Murasaki shaked her head. "I can't stop thinking about last night. I keep thinking about you in my head and I can't get it to stop, not even for sleep."

_So she is reacting to me back is she? The same way you did..._ "Alright, it's time. I have had the same feeling towards you. For what reason, I don't know. I just seem to be drawn to you." Neiyo acknowledged the same feelings.

She relaxed, thankfully seeing that she was not alone in feeling like this. There was a moment of silence as they both pondered on what to say next. "You realized I wasn't normal, back in the alley right?" Neiyo piped up. She nodded.

"Well, it's time you learn what I am." He stood up. "My name is Neiyo Wraithbane, I am what you would call a Sekirei."

_A wagtail? What the hell do they have to do with what he is?_ "Sekirei are, not native to this planet. We have the same composition as of humans but there is a small, if 1% difference in our genetic build. That 1% is our power base, our core... our soul."

_Powers?_ "So, what power do you have?" she asked nervously.

"I am known as Smoke. Although I have an elemental ability to control and summon the use of 'smoke' as it were. The vaporous element, that's made up of small particles throughout the air."

_ Smoke? Controlling the element? Makes sense really but why is he telling me this?_

"I am telling you this because Sekirei react to certain people in their lives, their destined ones called Ashikabi. I believe you are mine. I have been reacting to you since that fateful day in the alley. My body get's increasingly hot and it's like a fire rages in my heart."

_Neiyo... This man is pouring his heart out to me, I can't just reject it._ Murasaki still sat in silence. Neiyo turned to look at her. She smiled. _Yeah... that face, those dreamy gold eyes, I can't not love a man like that._ She leant forward, the two were almost touching. Neiyo pulled away.

"Before, anything happens. I need to tell you something else." he bagan. "Right in this very city, there is a 'game' of sorts unfolding. Where we Sekirei find our destined ones and fight to the very last one, where one of us gets a reward. So, before you do anything rash, are you sure you want to be by my side fighting with me?"

Murasaki pondered the question over. She again looked into his golden eyes, and his hair was blowing briefly from the wind that had picked up as his apartment window was open. There was a long moment of silence, where Neiyo was becoming increasingly agitated.

_Why does the fear of her rejecting me swell inside me so much? It's not as if I haven't been alone for long time. Do I love her that much already? Has a bond formed?_ So many questions rang through Neiyo's head at this moment in time. But Murasaki leaned in once more, capturing them both in the trance of each other's eyes.

"I want to be by your side, forever, whatever the cost", she smiled. She leant in and kissed him. Her eyes widening in shock as she saw silver wings fly out of his back, enveloping the room in a grey light. "What was that?" she asked, concerned.

"You just helped me emerge. It's what happens through mucosal contact. That's why I had to know if you really wanted this or not, cause once it's done, it cannot be undone."

_So that's why he was hesitant. Understandable._ "I cannot fault you for that, for being hesitant. I understand now why you wanted to make sure... and thank you."

"For what?" he asked.

"For being my first kiss, and for taking how I would feel into the equation." she answered softly. "So tell me, how many other of you are there?"

Neiyo laid out the story of Sekirei to her. How they crashed into Earth after an unexpected fault. He admitted he was the captain of their ship whilst the 108 sleeping forms were in embryos or eggs waiting to be released. He didn't say why they were in the ship and wouldn't reveal it to her, quickly moving topics in the conversation. He further explained that MBI had found these forms and researched them, gaining their company name in the big city and around the world.

"Mid Bio Informatics isn't a pharmaceutical company, it's the base of operations for the Sekirei plan." he continued.

"So, are you in the competition they have set up?" she asked solemnly.

"No, but I will be. I want to protect my daughter. She is 1 of the 108 Sekirei. I tried to watch over her for years but it became apparent she had my spirit and fighting style of that when I was younger. She could handle herself from then on. However, she also had the bad side of my attitude, and that scares me a little."

"Bad side of your attitude?" she quizzed him.

Neiyo nodded, "When in battle, whenever something happens, that I get extremely angered at, my alter ego appears. He has an adverse effect on me, making me relentless, bloodthirsty and have no mercy to my opponent. This personality, is what my daughter has the majority of the time... yet... yet I believe there is good in her."

_His daughter inherited the most tragic side of his personality. That's terrible... but, I somehow hope there is some good in her too. I can't help but feel his pain._

"You feel it don't you?" he asked.

"Feel what?" she retorted in surprise.

"The sorrow in my heart for my daughter, inheriting the worst side of me. The bond we share from you kissing me is the power I draw from in battle. However, since I was not experimented on by MBI, I have no limiter. I am already as powerful as I come but now I have something to fight for..." he turned to look at her eyes, "it makes it all worthwhile, and I become stronger."

END OF CHAPTER 3

A/N: I know there wasn't much going on in this, but I needed to create the knowledge that most ashikabi's in the series possess, whilst not revealing what he has in mind to get involved in the Sekirei plan. The next chapter will spice it up a bit but not fully. Again, slowly easing into things.

_**Reviews and suggestions are welcome!**_


	4. The Unexpected Strike

Chapter 4: The unexpected strike

Neiyo was out in the city after spending the night with Murasaki. She wasn't quite ready to do anything intimate with him yet as he expected but was quite content with sleeping beside him. Whilst she was out at University prep school, he made use of his time trying to protect the little ones that he brought here.

He came across an explosion in the distance, not fueled by fire but just smoke with a loud bang. He looked into the direction and saw a figure being chased by two.

_Already? I've only been out for thirty minutes and already trouble is starting to pick up._ He hurried to the three who were still moving at quick speeds, but Neiyo started bolting (A/N, British slang for running quickly) for the three figures to see what the situation was.

Neiyo took off at an incredible speed ,watching buildings fly past him as he kept low to keep the wind from slowing his progress. He soon caught up to them and watched from a distance to see how the girl being chased would react.

The girl looked about twenty, had chestnut brown hair to, that seemed to go to her shoulders whilst having a small pony tail tied with a ribbon going down her back. _My, she is a quick runner, I'll give her that._ _She's outpacing those two._ Neiyo thought to himself with a grin.

He noticed the two chasing her were similar looking, almost twins. A_h, Hikari and Hibiki, I wonder why those two have it out for girl. They were never that vindictive growing up._ The girl running tripped and a young man came out and knelt down beside her, presumably to Neiyo asking if she was okay. The twins marched up to her and the boy took it upon himself to stand in front of the now-on-the-floor girl that had been chased.

_Interesting... the boy hasn't known her for a second and risks his life for her. Possibly her ashikabi no doubt._ A moment passed with Neiyo overlooking the situation as Hibiki, one of the twins grabbed him, starting to sprout lightning from her hand to intimidate him. _Oh well, time to act._ Neiyo shot down behind the twins with a thud, creating a small crater with smoke pouring out of it.

Hikari the sister turned to see Neiyo, a shock on her face. "Hibiki! It's him!" The sister turned to drop the young man, who was now more confused but had dark hair and a pair of steel-blue eyes. He was dressed casually for a human but Neiyo wasn't about to focus on him in the situation. The twins looked at Neiyo and decided to call it quits for the day. "C'mon Hikari, this is over our heads already." Hikari reluctantly agreed with her sister and jumped off into the distance.

At this moment the brunette girl decided to speak up; "Thank you so much, I don't know why they had it in for me." She smiled at Neiyo, thankfully. The silver haired Sekirei laughed playfully, "It's not a problem. You shouldn't be thanking me, you should be thanking the man who stood up for you." he smiled back at her. This seemed to trigger a revelation in her head and turned to the dark haired man who stood in the twins way. She thanked him for standing up for her and he seemed a bit hesitant, as if not used to being around women.

_I guess I can relate to that somewhat,_ Neiyo thought.

Neiyo started to walk off in the other direction, well aware that eyes were watching him. He looked up to his right to the top of a department store about five stories high and witnessed a black figure with some form of cloak or haori dash off.

"Excuse me, sir?" a voice called out to him from behind.

'Smoke' as he was often referred to turned around to see the young man who had helped save the brown haired girl. "Yeah?" he asked casually.

"I, uh, well I want to thank you also." the boy turned slightly red because of his hesitation and lack of confidence.

As he spoke, Neiyo turned to look at the girl, who seemed a bit flustered herself, breathing quite heavily. Neiyo waved off his thanks and made his way towards the girl who was still on her knees. "Are you reacting to him?" he quietly asked.

Her eyes widened in shock but assumed that he must've been a Sekirei in order to scare off the twins. She nodded and looked toward the man.

Neiyo thought to himself for a moment, to try and help the girl out. He didn't want to stand in the way of fate. After a moment he smiled, "Go get 'im then" and launched into the sky onto the department store.

He turned to see the girl go after the young man, and talk to him. Neiyo smiled, at least he had helped her find her destined one. _Well, looks like my good deed is done for the day._ He turned and leapt to the following building, one slightly taller but not unreachable by any extent. Afterall, he had his own Ashikabi too look after now.

**A few hours later...**

Neiyo was atop the church-styled restaurant opposite the University campus when he saw Murasaki exit the building. She looked stressed somewhat to him but she still drew a smile on her face. He had decided to wait for her to finish her classes and then walk her home but, then when she came out with friends, or what seemed to be friends, he hesitated. Questioning how they'd take him into account. But he decided to use his initiative and text her.

_"Do you want to meet and grab some coffee?"_ the text he sent said.

Murasaki was walking with two other girls, who seemed attractive enough, but to Neiyo only she was the only one attractive out of the three of them. One had blonde hair but couldn't really see her face, the other had black hair, with a face he thought he recognized but couldn't plant a name to it. He shrugged the last one off, still looking at Murasaki.

He watched her dig out her phone and look at it, seeming to type something into it. He awaited her reply, as if he turned into an anxious school-kid.

***Bleep Bleep***

Neiyo's mobile went off, almost shocking him a little as he was still watching his Ashikabi walk off.

_"Sure, let's meet at the Lu Weng Café near the University. See you there! X"_. Neiyo smiled a little in relief.

He wasn't sure of the reply he would recieve from her.

After ten minutes, Murasaki was sitting with her friends at a table in the café as Neiyo dropped down outside the place in an alley from a nearby rooftop. He walked through the double glass doors, and inside it looked a bit on the richer side of life, a lot of red and gold colourings on the walls with a warm feeling to the room. The windows that stretched outside the building let a lot of light in, creating a bright café inside. The silver haired Sekirei looked around and saw Murasaki wave him over, with a smile on her face.

He navigated his way around the cluster of tables in the middle of the room. He sat down beside Murasaki who promptly hugged his arm with her hands, making him a bit flustered. He smiled and kissed her cheek with a greeting. "Have a good day at University?" he asked her innocently.

"Yup! It was just introductory classes but all the lecturers seemed nice." The blue haired girl answered her Sekirei. They both simply smiled. "Oh! I almost forgot, I want you to meet my friends,"

She gestured a hand at the blonde, "This is Yurame." After she gestured to the black haired girl, "And this is Nane. We met in the classes today."

Neiyo smiled at them as the two girls looked hesitant. "Nice to meet you. I'm Neiyo."

He decided to start the conversation since the two looked rather shy. I_'ll cut em a break. It's harder for some people to make friends than us... then again, some of us know that better than anyone._

After a few minutes the two girls eased up to Neiyo's presence and started talking with Murasaki about their choice of classes and to Murasaki, who chose to study Chemistry, she was happy with her choice. Neiyo noticed however that the other two weren't too sure the choice of the course was right for them as they seemed cautious of where it would lead them.

"I get the feeling that this course may be too hard for me." Yumare stated to the group.

Neiyo smiled, "Sometimes it takes us a few months of trying things out to see what we really want to do in life. There are millions of people in the same position as you guys, I wouldn't get too hung up on it. But you chose the course for a reason, you wouldn't have done it otherwise, right?"

The three girls seemed to be in awe of his reasoning, his wisdom. Then seemed to think to themselves, momentarily agreeing with what Neiyo had opinionated after. The four resumed to have coffee and some lunch for an hour then proceeded to head their separate ways, leaving Murasaki and Neiyo alone again...

**End of Chapter 4 **

A/N: Sorry guys, it's still merely getting to grips with the characters but the next chapter will open up to more... familiar surroundings, especially with those who have watched Sekirei themselves.

_**Reviews and Suggestions Welcome!**_


	5. New Tenants

**Chapter 5: New Tenants**

"So, about our living situation. Since we're tied together in this game, we should probably find a place for the both of us to stay. My apartment hasn't got a lot of room, especially not for two people." The scarlet eyed girl said to her partner.

"I couldn't agree more. I'd love to spend more time with you. I know a friend who may put us up and her rooms have a considerable amount of size to them."

Murasaki pondered over who Neiyo's 'friend' would be, but decided to go along with it. If Neiyo trusted her, then she could too.

"Sure, shall we go and find out then?" she asked. Neiyo did nothing but nod happily and let her take his arm once more. However this time, he grabbed her waist and hoisted her beside him as he jumped from roof to rood.

"Whoa, whaaaat?" Shocked, she grabbed tighter incase she would fall.

"Don't worry, I won't drop you. This is how Sekirei travel. We have high speed and can jump farther than humans can so it makes it an easy way of making our way through the city."

She relaxed to the explanation and let Neiyo carry her until his voice rang out again. "We're here!"

They landed outside a serene, traditional looking house, that could've been mistaken as a small hotel by the size of it. It's walls were wooden and dark coloured, with the only modern look to it was the windows and the double doors at the front. There was a sign to the left of the door, that proclaimed the house as 'Maison Izumo'. Landing rent at 50,000 Yen a month.

"50,000 Yen a month!? We can't afford that." Murasaki exclaimed, starting to worry about where they would be living from now on.

Neiyo let off a laugh at her worry, "You may not be able to afford that, but I can. I saved up a lot on my travels. Plus the landlady is an old friend, she may let us pay our way in other methods too."

Following his own explanation of why Murasaki shouldn't worry, he walked to the door with her in tow and knocked three times.

"_Just a minute!" _a voice rang out from inside.

They waited for what seemed more than a minute but decided not to complain when there was certainly a chance of overhearing to be taken place.

The door suddenly opened to reveal a young woman with waist length lavender hair in a shrine outfit. Her eyes radiated the same colour, if not a bit darker.

"May I help you, Neiyo?" she asked politely.

"Hello to you too, Miya. Do you have any rooms spare these days?" he smiled at her enthusiastically.

Miya turned to see Murasaki beside Neiyo, who towered over her like he did most people. Murasaki almost hid behind Neiyo, because she guessed that Miya was also a Sekirei and was unsure of how to treat the situation.

"We can work something out," she said, then turning her gaze to Murasaki again, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Miya Asama. I'm an... old friend of Neiyo's."

This seemed to cause Neiyo a reason to nod in approval from Neiyo. She knew there was something afoot between the two but again, decided not to aggravate the situation. They had turned up, uninvited to her doorstep to ask for a room of all things.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit nervous. My name's Murasaki Yatsu. A pleasure." she smiled.

Miya turned back to the silver haired 'Smoke', "Come in, and we can discuss the details."

They both bowed in their thanks and entered the house after her with Neiyo closing the door behind them.

The house was very traditional inside, with tatami mats in the majority of rooms besides the inner lobby and the hallways where it was darkened floor boards. The walls were a cream colour but door to the lounge, Murasaki noticed, was a traditional slide door, the others however were more modern with a wooden door marking the entrance of each room thereafter.

Miya led them to the living room where they knelt around a small table in the middle of the room, on one side of the room was a stand with a small TV and the others wooden furniture with pictures on. Murasaki didn't recognize the man in the picture but assumed he was close to the landlady.

Neiyo caught Murasaki looking toward the picture and placed his left hand on her right thigh, squeezing reassuringly.

After a minute of adjusting and bringing out some paperwork, they began to talk about staying in Izumo Inn.

"Now, are both of you wanting to stay in the one room?" Miya promptly broke the silence.

Neiyo turned to Murasaki, assuring her that it was her decision.

After a moment of deep thought, she plucked up an answer, "I... I would like that. If you would allow it."

Miya's gaze turned towards Neiyo, who knew himself where this was going. "You are aware I don't allow illicit relations inside Izumo Inn unless the two people in context are married."

Neiyo let off a grin and smiled. Murasaki noticed a Hanya mask appear from behind Miya, which terrified her. In reflex she grabbed Neiyo's right arm and held it tightly, signifying her fear to him.

He thought it was endearing, and allowed himself to make his own 'Hanya' of sorts. A smoky guise appeared behind him, a full figure standing next to him with it's arms folded. It's face was hidden behind the vapour, only to make out a form of a breathing mask.

_That must be his combat suit in full_, Murasaki thought to herself.

It seemed to combat Miya's mask but both of them didn't seem to be backing down. Sitting in awe of this, the blue haired Ashikabi decided to break the on-going mental battle.

"Uhm, I don't know what the two of you are doing but can we get back on track, if that's alright can we put the scary... things, down?" It took every ounce of courage to stop the two and speak up whilst they were doing... whatever it is they were doing in their heads.

Miya sighed to herself letting her mask down. Neiyo didn't sigh but let the guise he created fade away.

"Sorry, I guess we got carried away." Neiyo smiled to her reassuringly.

"As I was saying, I do not allow un-wed couples to have illicit relations in Maison Izumo. Is that understood?" Miya continued.

The pair opposite her nodded in acceptance. Neiyo remarked to himself, _This is her home I suppose... only right to honor her wish... _

"Then you two will be staying in room 203 upstairs. You may meet some of the tenants aswell this evening. The rent is as stated 50,000 Yen a month and that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner."

Neiyo interrupted her train of thought for a moment, "Pardon my interruption, but who are the other tenants exactly?"

Miya knew this was an underhanded question, the real motive of it to find out if any others were Sekirei or not.

"We have two other tenants at the moment." Miya stated, and paused. "They live in rooms 204 and 103. You will meet them later today."

She turned her gaze to Neiyo oncemore, "There will be **no** fighting in Maison Izumo. Is that clear?"

Neiyo nodded again, "Crystal."

"Excellent", she replied. "I have to get dinner started, and I have to increase the amount of food I'm using since we have two more guests."

Murasaki seemed to shy away in embarrassment, whereas Neiyo perked up a bit; "So long as you're cooking is still as good as it used to be, I have no problem going out and getting some extra shopping for you."

Miya put a hand over her mouth and giggled a bit, almost in gratitude, "That won't be necessary. You can make up for it tomorrow doing chores around the house."

Neiyo merely chuckled and agreed.

**An hour later**

The two decided to go to their respective apartments and Neiyo said he would meet Murasaki within the hour at her place. That was 45 minutes ago and Murasaki had finished tying together her clothes and books she needed. It was only after she had done this she noticed how bare her apartment was. The only thing she actually had furniture-wise was a table to study and eat on.

A knock came to the door, followed by two more. She got up from the table and answered it, smiling broadly as the man she loved stood in front of her.

"Ready to go?" The ashen haired Sekirei asked her.

Nodding she grabbed her three heavy bags, that to Neiyo, looked like Bin Liners somewhat, and came out the door, locking it.

"I can take those if you want?" Politely gesturing to a hand.

It was only then that Murasaki noticed that Neiyo was carrying a huge bag on his back, making her bags look like half of what he was carrying in total.

"What?" Neiyo noticed Murasaki staring at him.

"It's just I never knew you were so strong..." she answered. Neiyo laughed it off and took her bags as they started walking.

It took the two almost two hours to finally get to Maison Izumo from Murasaki's apartment. Where they were once again greeted by the landlady, with another stern reminder about her 'illicit relations' rule.

_I'm starting to regret even asking for a place to stay here. Especially if I have to hear about illicit relations every damned day._ Neiyo chimed to himself upon hearing her reminder.

"We understand, Miya. Are we okay to move into the room just now?" Murasaki asked.

Neiyo noticed the upfrontal attitude she had with Miya. _She's more confident than usual in front of Miya. I wonder where that came from._

"Of course, I cleaned it while you were out collecting your things. I'll have dinner ready within the hour so don't be late downstairs."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Miya." replied Neiyo.

The two silently went upstairs and started to find places for their possessions and found it relatively simple. Murasaki was almost in charge in the room since Neiyo didn't really care where his things were kept, so long as he knew where they were kept.

Half an hour passed and Neiyo was happy enough with the placement of things. Murasaki had just finished putting away her clothes in the set of drawers supplied and finding a place for her books when her partner suggested going downstairs again. She happily accepted, getting a chance to relax and explore her new home more.

Neiyo decided to sit down and watch TV, catching up on the news of what was happening within the city, only to get depressed at seeing Hiroto Minaka's face on the screen, stating that MBI had bought 80% of Shinto Teito stocks. He humphed at the screen, intently listening on what the reporter had to say about it.

_"Shareholders are arguing MBI's attempt at holding 80% of stocks in Shinto Teito today as an outcry came from business owners everywhere throughout the city."_ The news reporter relayed confidently.

_Outcry, pfft, if anything Minaka has blackmailed them to do so. But knowing him, he has set this up from the beginning anyway, it was only a matter of time._

Neiyo rubbed his forehead in annoyance, only to be greeted by another tenant; "Why the long face there?"

He looked up to see a young woman in a blue and pink shirt that seemed to scream at the stretching from her humongous busoms and blue capri jeans. She was a brunette and had long waist length hair, but had a side ponytail which seemed to uncover one side of her face. She had the same coloured eyes, if not close to hazel.

"And you are?" Neiyo replied.

"Uzume, I live in 204. You must be the new tenant right?" She smiled, trying to ease the tension.

"Correct, I'm Neiyo, your neighbour as of today."

She walked towards him and sat beside him looking at the television set. "That man is up to his antics again, huh?"

Neiyo didn't quite pay attention to her as she passed and sat on his right, his mind looked to her neck, spotting her Sekirei symbol. _At least one of them is safe here under Miya's protection._

"Oh, yeah. He's a pain in the ass. You've got to respect him though, for what he has done, even though it may not be good." A belated reply came eventually from the Smoke Sekirei.

"Respect him? Why?" Uzume questioned.

"Think about it. It takes a stronger than average man to think of how he's going to run things. If things are going according to his plan, he's smarter than he looks. He'd look better with my fist through his face though."

"Whatever you say. Why do you have such a grudge against him though?" Her eyebrows raised as she spoke.

"You could say, he wronged someone close to me." Neiyo told a surface level truth. Strictly speaking it wasn't a lie. But his daughter, and her upbringing was up to Minaka and she had been stripped of her childhood. But, all the Sekirei had, not just her. For that he wanted retribution... and Minaka's head.

Trying to break the awkwardness, Uzume began again; "So what do you think about MBI then?"

Neiyo was about to answer, but then decided against it. _This girl could well try to destroy me. Best not let out too much information. It's a battle royale afterall._

"I think you ask too many questions." Neiyo smiled at her, causing her to pout in the sudden show of rudeness.

They sat in silence for a while until Miya showed up with a tray of several plates of food, all seemed to contain a singular fish with sides of vegetables and rice. "Dinner is about to be served. Uzume, can you fetch Kagari and Murasaki please?"

"Sure... wait who?" Uzume quizzed.

"Kagari and Murasaki, she's with Neiyo as one of the new tenants." Miya stood with the tray in her hands. Uzume failed to move immediately, and when a Hanya mask shot out from behind Miya, the bell dropped. Uzume sprinted past Miya and went to fetch the two.

Neiyo chucked, "You still got it, Miya."

Miya turned and put the food down on the table, and politely smiled back giving a small laugh, "I don't know what you're talking about, Neiyo."

_Just like old times..._


	6. The Road to War

Chapter 6: The Road to War

Uzume entered the living room oncemore and sat opposite Miya whilst Murasaki came in and sat beside Neiyo. Upon sitting down Neiyo gave her side a quick squeeze in a loving way, letting her know he appreciated her presence beside him. She turned and smiled at him, squeezing his left arm with her own appreciation.

"So, where is this Kagari I hear so much about?" Neiyo asked turning to Uzume.

"He said he's be alone sooner or later."

"My, that's quite a vague statement isn't it." Miya intervened before Neiyo could even utter a word of his own opinion. He decided against it though.

"Well, let's eat. No point in letting it go cold." she continued. Allowing the others to eat their dinners.

Conversation was light-hearted, mostly learning about the new tenants and them learning about the current ones. Uzume didn't give a lot of information about herself, besides she liked to cosplay every now and then so that Neiyo and Murasaki wouldn't be 'freaked out' if they ever saw her in a costume.

However, Murasaki went into great detail about her life and growing up. How she aspired to be a better person than her father, to be successful but also put more time into her family than he did, if she ever got one.

This almost led to panic in Neiyo, who wasn't against having children, but such a topic wasn't on his list of 'things to do in the near future'. His eyes widened upon hearing her implied statement. She noticed this and gave his thigh a gentle squeeze which was only fair she return the favour from earlier.

Quarter of an hour later, a slim figure appeared at the door to the living room, they all turned to see it was Kagari. He could only be described as handsome to someone who had just met him, with roughly the same colour hair as Neiyo, except maybe a bit of a darker tint, a more ashen colouring to it.

"Oh, hello." He looked towards Murasaki and Neiyo, then back to Miya. "Sorry I'm late. I just woke when Uzume came to get me."

Miya just smiled and gestured a seat to her right, insinuating she wanted him to just eat his dinner while it was still warm.

They ate in silence until Kagari spoke up oncemore; "Sorry for the late interruption earlier. I'm Kagari."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Murasaki, and this is Neiyo." Putting her arm around Neiyo as she spoke. But quickly releasing it due to a glance from Miya.

"Glad we've got that out the way. You may not see me a lot during the mornings. I work at a host club at nights." he continued.

A moment of silence went past and Murasaki pondered to herself. _A host? I'm surprised Miya even let's him sleep here. _

"That's cool. I guess it might be hard sleeping at times then!" she let out a laugh that was both meant and slightly awkward, especially on a subject so... private.

The silence ensued oncemore, with everyone just about finished their dinner. Murasaki noticed that Neiyo had wolfed down his dinner, much like Uzume and Kagari and she was still eating.

"How come you guys ate so fast?" she asked the three of them. Miya however was taking her time and enjoying her meal.

"Well... uh..." Uzume stuttered. "It's because we were all so hungry, and Miya's cooking is delicious." She thankfully sighed as Neiyo finished her explanation for her.

"Oh, okay then. And yeah, Miya, it's great! I'd love to learn some of the recipies when you get the time."

Miya put her hand over the bottom half of her face, trying to hide a blush, "Why thank you. I'd be delighted to show you sometime. But for now let's enjoy the rest of the dinner."

They agreed on the last part and finished up their meal. Kagari and Uzume both left to go to their separate rooms, whilst Neiyo stayed to be polite and to accompany Murasaki.

Suddenly there was a loud noise outside, it sounded like a tree breaking and something landing on the floor. Miya went to look outside, as Neiyo and Murasaki heard her usual _"Oh My..."_.

"I guess something's up. I'll check it out." Neiyo said, in the process of standing up. Murasaki just nodded and kept on eating, savouring the meal that had been so delicately prepared for her.

Neiyo got to the lounge door, that led outside and noticed two bodies on the floor. One was a boy who was kneeling, the other was a girl, getting up from what looked to be a hard landing.

_Well, looky here..._

"It's you two from earlier..." he exclaimed. The boy and girl immediately looked up and recognised him.

"Th-thank you for earlier Mr. Without your intervention, I don't know what would have happened."

Neiyo just laughed the thanks off, "You're welcome, kid. Name's Neiyo."

The girl immediately got up and went into a fighting stance to protect her Ashikabi. Not even noticing her clothes were half ripped up the middle and leading up to her neck, making her breasts quite visible to both Miya and Neiyo.

"There will be no violence in my home!" Miya shouted as a Hanya mask appeared. The girl immediately let her stance down and protected what was left of her 'modesty'.

"I think we should go inside and talk this out." she continued. "You especially need some medical attention on that knee of yours." Her gaze changing to the young man with a bloody knee.

Neiyo turned to go inside, muttering "I'll get the first aid kit". Miya gestured the both of them inside and left Minato in the living room sitting on the floor while Neiyo grabbed the bandages. She took the girl into her room and gave her a spare set of clothes to get changed into.

Murasaki had noticed the young man coming into the room, or rather, limping into the room and sit down opposite her.

"Uhm, hi there." she said, breaking the silence.

He looked at her and greeted her with the same awkwardness, "Uh, hello." scratching the back of his head at the same time.

"Where did you come from?" said a voice in the doorway. It was Neiyo entering with a green box in his hand. "And you'll have to lift up your trouser leg over the injury."

The man did what he was told and decided to reply to him as he was getting the injury dressing ready. "You could say, we... flew in with the wind." There again was that awkwardness and lack of confidence showing as he scratched the back of his head.

Neiyo looked up at him, inquisitively, "The wind, eh?... Guess we can leave it at that." He applied ointment on the bandage in his hand, and moved it towards the youngsters knee. "This will sting for the first minute or so. It'll ease away after."

The dark haired youngster nodded, and Neiyo quickly placed the bandage on top of the wound, applying pressure as he sealed it with medical tape. He let out a gasp in shock from the stinging but soon got used to the pain from it.

"I did warn you." Neiyo smiled. "You never mentioned before, what's your name?"

"My name is Sahashi Minato. I'm very grateful for what you did just now. Thank you." Minato answered.

"Don't mention it. You looked in pain and you didn't seem to be a threat to us. By the way..." Minato looked up to what was coming next, "Is that girl your Sekirei?"

Minato looked shocked, "Wha... How did you know?"

Neiyo's laugh sounded the room again, "You think I didn't know, especially with what happened earlier?"

"Can you really talk about this with, uhm, sorry I didn't get your name?" Minato asked the blue haired girl sitting opposite him.

"My name is Yatsu Murasaki, and I know more than you think." she smiled. Minato crawled backwards a little in fear as Neiyo gave off once again, a playful laugh.

"She is my Ashikabi. As you are to your Sekirei. But I'd keep it on the down low for just now. I don't know how many of the other residents may or may not know." He advised Minato on the delicacy of their situation.

"May not know what?" came a serene voice in the doorway. Neiyo turned faster than he ever had before, seeing Miya and the girl in front of her in a red kimono, splattered with purple coloured leaves.

"Uh, may not know how good your cooking is!" he explained hastily, covering up the conversation.

"Minato, I borrowed a kimono! What do you think?" the girl asked her Ashikabi. He was speechless, literally just looking with his jaw dropped.

"It looks, really, good on you Musubi. Really... good..." he answered. She smiled at his reply and stood next to him, facing Miya.

Minato spoke up first, "I'm so sorry, we borrowed your clothes and your time."

"It's not a problem, I always help out where I can. My name is Miya Asama. And you've already met two of my tenants."

Their gaze swapped from Miya to Neiyo and Murasaki who were now standing behind them. They smiled back at Minato and Musubi in a welcoming manner.

"This... is a boarding house?" Minato asked. Miya merely nodded.

"Please, we've just been kicked out of our apartment and have nowhere else to go!" he explained and bowed to her.

"Raise your head. My husband always believed in helping those in need... Welcome home." she said with a smile, that to Neiyo, resembed one from a long time ago.

"You did it!" Musubi shouted as she hugged Minato. "D-did what?" he asked, trying not to think about her oversized breasts on his back. "You found us a home!"

After all the events of the night, Neiyo decided to was time to sleep. But was still aware of the danger another Sekirei posed to him and Murasaki, yet seemed to feel that she wasn't a danger to him... he didn't see any hate in her, only compassion.

The two newest tenants and Miya discussed living arrangements in the living room whilst Neiyo and Murasaki departed to their room.

They opened the door to find their things in their respective places with two futons on the floor.

Murasaki walked in first, after Neiyo's gentlemanly view of 'ladies first' became apparent. She immediately pushed the futons together to make a double one.

_Interesting. She's displaying affectionate qualities I've never quite seen from her before. Maybe she's different when she's alone with me than out in public._

"I'm going to get changed, I'll be back in a couple of minutes, kay?"

Neiyo let out a "mhmm" in agreement and decided to get changed himself when she left th room. He was still, no matter what kind of warrior he was, a little shy in front of the other gender. He lay down on the futon with only pyjama trousers on, showing his scarred back for the world, or whoever was in the room at the time, which was no one, to see.

He lay on the futon under the blanket provided and waited, trying not to fall asleep before his fated one returned.

The door opened after a few minutes, Neiyo's head tilting to allowing him to view who it was over his chest. There standing in front of him was Murasaki, who was in quite, provocative clothing.

Neiyo had to blink a few times to make sure it was the real thing. "You are aware of Miya' s rule, right?"

"Of course. But that doesn't mean I can't sleep comfortably does it?" she responded.

"Heh, no it doesn't. But I wonder how Miya will take it if she sees you in that."

"If we don't do anything, she won't have anything to punish us for, right?"

"I guess. Either way, with me here she can't do anything to you." he smiled.

Murasaki started to walk towards the futon with the empty side and crawled under the blanket, cuddling next to Neiyo.

He felt strangely at ease, knowing her hand was on his chest and he could feel her breathing on his neck. It felt... right to him. _I never thought I'd feel this way after losing you, but it's happened. I feel both guilt and pleasure at the same time._

He turned to look at Murasaki who now had her eyes closed and her head leaning on the left shoulder. _Yet, I can't help but be happy. Is this what you would've wanted? For me to move on? _

"One day, you're gonna have to tell me how you got those scars on your back, y'know." Murasaki piped up.

"One day, I will. Good night, Mura."

"Good night."

_One day, I will tell you everything... I promise._

A/N: Sorry, this one's a bit of a long one but things are starting to shape up within the story and like I said in earlier chapters, **REVIEWS AND SUGGESTIONS** are always welcome! In fact, they're necessary for me to keep the story fresh, and although I can appreciate some may say that the story is stale at the moment, it will freshen up in the next chapter when fighting breaks out, playful or not.


	7. Vapourized

Chapter 7:

Neiyo woke up to find a hand still placed on his chest, looking to his left seeing the blue haired girl he had fallen in love with. He naturally smiled at this, not knowing the full reason but being around her made him happy with life.

Luckily for him he managed to sneak out from under her grip, so that he could get dressed and get some breakfast. As he had moved Mura's hand she had illicited a slight groan but still didn't wake up, much to his relief. Making his way across to their dresser, he grabbed; some clean underwear, socks, a pair of blue jeans and a white hoodie, gradually putting them on in the process of selecting them.

There were noises outside that grabbed his attention, like the sound of a sword being drawn repeatedly. Apart from that, utter silence. His inquisitive side of his brain got the better of him and decided to go to the balcony to investigate.

_Interesting, she's no longer involved but still trains._

Neiyo leaned on the balcony banister to see Miya, sheathing and drawing her sword to cut the falling leaves from the tree nearby.

"Wow, she's good." A voice rang from his left along the balcony.

He turned to see Minato and his Sekirei Musubi staring in awe. He smiled that Musubi was so eager and impressed.

"Oh, good morning. I was just practicing." Miya stated once she had noticed their presence.

Musubi suddenly jumped down in front of her, "Landlady, will you please spar with me?" she asked excitedly.

_She is an eager one... She'll go far in this pathetic game of his. Then again, probably taught to want to fight._

"Alright, but I won't go easy on you."

_Challenge accepted then..._

He turned to see how Minato was taking this, only to find him gone, and instead downstairs trying to stop their 'spar', but being stopped by Uzume in the process.

Musubi put her all into trying to land a punch on Miya but failed at every attempt, with Miya side-stepping out of her punches and hitting her lightly on the head with her sheathed katana. Miya's methods of teaching were more of a, 'learn from your mistakes' kind of pattern. It worked, but only if the Sekirei actually listened, which Musubi seemed to fall in and out of understanding with half of landlady's advice.

They both stopped as Uzume exclaimed her need for breakfast. "Some of us have places to be, Miya!"

Musubi looked rather displeased at her sparring partner being drawn away, but understood the reasoning behind it. She blatantly wanted to spar more, so Neiyo gave her an alternative.

"How bout I spar with you instead?" he smiled.

"You will? That'd be great, are you as strong as the Landlady?" Her voice so innocent, yet the alterior motive behind it was to get stronger, and with her logic, the only way to get stronger was to face strong opponents.

Neiyo warped down to in front of Musubi in a cloud of smoke.

"Why don't I let you find that out?" The playfulness coming out in his voice, ringing through Musubi's ears.

"Game on!" she shouted, lunging toward him with a full fist. He warped behind her, not doing trying to strike at her.

"You're gonna have to do better than that."

She tried oncemore to attack him but he just warped around her like she was a toy.

"Instead of striking where you see me, strike where you predict I will be."

She turned with her fists raised, "Right!". She lunged at him again, this time as he warped she changed her direction, reaching Neiyo's chest with a punch. He flew backward, his back smashing into the tree in the yard, cracking it in the center.

"Ouch... But least you're taking in advice." he groaned, slowly getting up. His back cracked as joints went back into place.

"Neiyo, what's happening!?" a familiar voice sounded from the balcony. Mura was fully awake with her face showing despair, and anger at Musubi.

"Just training, calm down. It's fully consented, don't worry yourself." he replied, still getting up.

"But you just flew into a tree, how can it be consented!?" Her voice started to get more angry by the second.

"I let it happen! That's why it's consented! Now get some breakfast already!" he smiled back at her, now more relaxed appearance.

She stood on the balcony, deciding to watch them 'spar' for a little. It looked to her as if he was training Musubi, but for what reason was unknown to her.

Musubi kept coming at him with punches and kicks, Neiyo blocking each in quick succession. He was finally ready to test her will and strength to fight on, using a combination he hadn't had to use in a good long while.

He stood away from her, Musubi raised her fists readily. She cocked her arm, going for another full force punch. Just as it was about to strike Neiyo he warped behind her, landing two punches of his own to her lower back. He took a step back to allow his opponent to rise to her feet again.

"Now you've got to learn how to predict how I will use it to my advantage, like just now." Neiyo once again took upon himself the role of teacher in this sparring match.

Mura looked on, watching Neiyo warp around Musubi for a bit longer, before finally heading down for breakfast. She wondered how it was fair for him to have an ability like that, where Musubi didn't, but also hoped that he would never fail her. That he planned to be a participant of this game, to help save his race and his daughter, who was still unknown to her, was a huge burden.

Whenever she looked into his eyes, she saw courage, determination, and a lack of … anger. _Perhaps the attitude his daughter inherited stopped him from becoming angry, for her sake? Or was it something in the past that changed his attitude?_ _There's definitely things he's hiding from me._

It was all so new to her, but still felt so right. There was no other way to describe it, the love she felt for him wasn't unnerving to her because of what she felt for him, more the speed. It wasn't 'normal'... but then again neither was Neiyo.

Shortly after Murasaki sat down in the lounge and started to eat her breakfast, Neiyo and Musubi entered, with only Musubi have a few scathes and scuffed clothes. Neiyo on the other hand looked normal, nothing out of the ordinary in his clothes.

_I guess he can handle himself then._ Mura made sure to keep that a mental note for the future. Especially if he sparred with Musubi more whilst living in Izumo Inn.

"Are you alright Musubi?!" Minato cried, almost falling over as he tried to run to her, making sure she was alright.

"I'm alright, Neiyo's really strong." Number 88 answered in her usual innocent manner.

He smiled next to her, patting her on the head, trying to avoid her blatantly visible bump. "You'll get better in time Musubi, you've just got to work hard."

They all finally sat down again and had breakfast peacefully. The TV was on for a change, making the usual silence a bit more relaxing. It was on the news channel, speaking of strange terrorist activity, showing a picture of a person who had been murdered.

"_The assailant is said to be vicious and have no mercy when striking her enemies. The witnesses have described her to have ashen hair, wear mostly black with some sort of grey cloak or haori."_

The news reporter went on, but what had been said sent a chill up Neiyo's spine. He got up and excused himself promptly, "Sorry, I'm not really hungry at the moment." and proceeded to walk out the room and sit on the ledge between the hallway and outside.

He stared at the tree opposite him, with the crack in the middle from where he hit it. He knew the person responsible was his daughter. He felt it within himself. His stare got worse, his eyes grew cold and vicious. It pained him, that he never got a chance to even bring his daughter up. It was all done by MBI and Minaka.

_She is what she is due to that damned company and that bastard. I will end him, one way or another._

He stood up, needing to vent his fury. He took step after step towards the tree, seeing it as the only viable thing to hit within this short distance. He unleashed a load of punches to it, denting the tree itself and shredding the trunk of bark, revealing a white, creamy wall of wood.

"Why did it have to come to this!? Why was it never simple!? How the hell can I rectify the situation!?" he screamed as he unloaded punch after punch, not realizing the tree was slowly breaking under the nature of his actions. His shouting had earned him an audience, with Mura and Musubi looking on, in worry and awe respectively.

_What's gotten into him? Why is he doing this? And those words, "Why did it have to come to this?"... Who's he talking to?_ Mura wondered as she stood and watched the one she loved rip apart an object to release some emotion.

However, Neiyo now realized that the tree was slowly breaking and began to fall towards the house. He quickly rectified the situation by grabbing the tree, preventing it from falling any further, hailing the word; "DISSIPATION!".

Musubi's eyes suddenly widened further in amazement, as did Murasaki's when Neiyo flooded the trunk with a vapour-like essence, the element of his power, his smoke, filled the tree trunk and broke it into hundreds of particles, some bigger than others. They all fell to the floor, barely making any sound. He sighed as at least it wasn't any danger to the house. _Miya really would fight me if I did anything to her house. Or rather Takehito's house._

He stood breathing slowly for a minute, facing away from the house. He knew there was a presence watching him. He could feel Mura's feelings through their bond with each other. He looked up, seeing the clouds on this sunny day passing by.

_I need some air, some time away from Izumo for an hour or so to get my head straight._ Neiyo had a lot to think about, how he was going to progress and plan his adventure, if you could call it that. Except he knew better than anyone that plans often don't go through as they are thought through.

Smoke vapours crept up from his legs, covering his body, as it morphed his outfit from his civilian clothing to his combat outfit. It resembled a form of an overcoat, that was coloured a dark grey, with overlaps of red from strips of leather that covered and pressed the jacket to hug his slender body. The jacket had a hood that was now up over it's owner's head, whilst the lower half of his body now had knee high boots, that were brown and engraved with a Sekirei symbol but was different, it had a flame through it as a background underneath the ying and yangs. His trousers were now deathly black.

It was blatant to Mura that due to Neiyo's outfit, he hid in the shadows a lot and used them to his advantage.

The admiration for Neiyo's outfit was abruptly ended as he took off over the houses, jumping from one to another in quick succession without a fault.

"Wow, he's faster than anyone I've ever seen." Musubi stated beside her. "He's amazing, where did you meet him?"

Mura turned to Musubi, not really knowing how to answer, but almost felt a big sister vibe from her, it was a nice feeling. She didn't feel that Musubi had any intent to harm her or Neiyo, not without reason anyway.

"I met him a week ago, right after I passed my entrance exams to University." Mura started, "He rescued me from a pack of thugs who would've done terrible things to me."

She shuddered at the thought of what might've happened if her knight in shining armour as it were, hadn't shown up.

Musubi smiled, "He has kindness in his heart, but I can detect a deep sadness in him. Something has happened to him in the past."

"You can tell that just my watching him?" The blue-haired student asked.

"I can feel it within your bond, the emotion you have for him. It's overpowering for a Sekirei. But even his core power, is stronger than Musubi. One day I'll match him!" Musubi finally finished with her childlike competitiveness.

_She can tell that by my emotions? What kind of Sekirei is she? Can they all do that?_ Mura needed to think on this, but couldn't help but treat Musubi as a sister. She was so friendly and innocent it was kind of heart-breaking that she was in this bloodthirsty game.

"What number is he?" the brown eyed Sekirei asked Mura.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm Number 88. What number is Neiyo?" she asked again.

Murasaki held her forehead in her hand and Musubi sensed the awkwardness and frustration of so many questions.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to annoy you."

"No, no, it's fine. I just... don't know the answer. He's never told me. I don't even know if he has one or not." Mura answered, questioning herself with her own answer. _I really need him to open up to me. There's still so much unanswered._

"Oh. I see. I'm going to see if Miya needs help with anything around the Inn... Sorry again."

Murasaki weakly laughed off her apology, "It's alright, Musubi. I need to study, so I'll see you later." She quickly retreated to her room, but not to study, mainly to think of questions to answer Neiyo. But it then also dawned on her, that Neiyo had looked as if he was ready to fight, and didn't even realize that he might not return depending on what he's doing.

She whispered to herself, "Please come back safe. There's so much I need to ask you."

**Meanwhile...**

Neiyo was still jumping from roof to roof and suddenly felt his heart twinge. He stopped on an apartment block in the middle of the city. His body felt strange all of a sudden. The bond he shared felt like it was starting to crack. _Does she not trust me? Is what I'm doing making her feel the same way?_

Regardless of how she felt, he still needed space to figure everything out. What to tell her, and when to do it were two seperate things. How to keep her safe from this game was also another. While her dying would not render him unconscious or 'out of the game' as it were, it would still have an adverse effect on him. _I can't bear the thought of losing her. I will NOT lose someone I care for again. I vow it._

Due to his nature as a pure Sekirei, an un-adjusted one, he would not become comatose upon losing his Ashikabi. However, because of the bond they share, he will be effected emotionally, and would be unstable in combat, either causing himself pain or those around him to suffer, innocent or not.

Neiyo was no stranger to war, he had been put through fighting his entire life. He did have morals though, and fighting made them more concrete than ever. Due to his power, he had caused bloodshed, broken bones, disfigurations. He had changed since then.

He continued jumped from building to building until he reached his old destination. His old flat apartment. Although he had not expected what had happened to it. The front door was open. Well... open was an understatement, the door was in pieces beside the space where it would've been.

Adjusting his pace and mannerisms, he slowly approached the door, hearing voices inside.

"Where the hell can he just disappear to!? Minaka said he was here!" one shouted, sounding forceful and impatient.

"Maybe he got his intel wrong... for once, fufufu." The other voice sounded, resonating a childishness and sarcastic ring to it.

He crept into his old flat, the two still not noticing him, his footsteps silent as the night. "And who gets the pleasure of meeting me?" His voice rang out, deeper than usual as the commanding authority rang out of it.

The two turned around in shock of hearing a voice. "You!" The one on the right shouted, her face almost teenage like. She had bright pink hair, with a flower band in it, creating a ponytail to the side. It reminded Neiyo of Uzume slightly, but kept to the matter at hand.

"Yes, me. Congratulations. Now since you two were blatantly looking for me, what is it that you want?"

The two were stunned at his upfront attitude, and the pink haired girl stood in a combat stance, "Minaka wants you taken out. You're a danger to his ambitions." she explained.

"Oh dear. It seems I've been found out. Well then. I accept your challenge!" Neiyo declared, lowering his hood to show his scarred face, golden tint eyes and silver hair.

"No. 105, Benitsubasa, Discipline Squad member."

The other girl who Neiyo had now noticed had hands that were covered in metal claws. She was wrapped in bandages with a Sekirei black jacket covering her. She also had a silver colouring to her hair.

"No. 104 Haihane, Discipline Squad member." she exclaimed her position.

"Interesting. So this is who my daughter has as her minions." Neiyo opinioned.

"Who the hell are you calling minions!?" Benitsubasa shouted aloud. Her first clenched in anger. Haihane stepped in to calm her down. "I think you're missing the important part. He implied his '**daughter' **is leader of the discipline squad."

Benitsubasa's eyes widened, almost in terror. Neiyo began to draw smoke beneath him, forging swords out of the element and placing them in his hands. His eyes showed determination, seriousness, and annoyance at being chased by a man he had never met, but despised all the same.

"You can't be her father! None of us have any!" She exclaimed.

"Don't be so naïve!" he roared, his voice resonating through the apartment. "Do you actually believe you were created in this world for the sole purpose of one man's amusement!?"

The question had never even been thought of by the two Sekirei in front of Neiyo. That they actually had parents and never got to meet them. Neiyo watched as the two in front of him contemplated his words.

Haihane seemed to wonder about what could've been, the rampant thoughts about what her parents might've been like, what her life would be like if it had been different.

Benitsubasa on the other hand refused to believe it. "I will end you right now!" she shouted, her fist cocked, and ready to punch Neiyo where ever she could.

"So be it." he retorted.

"Smokescreen!" he yelled. In one quick moment, smoke filled the room, clouding the Discipline Squad's vision, as Neiyo warped to Benitsubasa and repeatedly punched her in varying places.

He may have disliked her attitude towards him, but killing her was a step too far, and one idea he didn't want to use. Afterall, he was trying to prevent any from dying at all.

The smoke cleared, with Benitsubasa backflipping and using a move of her own; "Extreme Quake!".

The building tore apart from the inside, crashing down on the squad and Neiyo. The three got up and stood still, watching each other for a moment. "You never said who you were." Haihane spoke up.

"That's because you never asked." his playful smile returning. "You've probably guessed that I am a Sekirei. But I have no designation, no number. I wasn't adjusted by MBI."

"Not adjusted? Then..." Benitsubasa started.

"You're not limited in your power levels." Haihane finished her sentence.

"I could have killed you back then Benitsubasa. But I chose not to. And as for my name; I am Neiyo, the Sekirei Champion."

"Well, let's have round two shall we?" Benitsubasa said, not backing down.

"As you wish, Benitsubasa. I shant hold back this time."

She dashed toward him with her fist clenched oncemore, trying to pulverize his face with one fell swoop. He ducked under it, elbowing her in the back as she passed him. The resulting counter, threw her to the ground.

Haihane stood to the side, knowing battles should be one on one, but saw how Neiyo fought. He fought with no hatred. There was nothing in his movement that showed aggression.

"So he's going to try and tire her out..." she muttered to herself.

"What was that!?" No. 105 turned, hearing her teammate mutter.

"Nothing, I'm just thinking to myself. You should be paying attention by the way."

"... Paying attention? Why? I have this gu-" Her reply was cut short as Neiyo finally showed some aggression and caught her jaw with his boot, sending her flying back into a wall of the building next door.

Neiyo stood and watched her get up from the floor of the building. "That's a basic rule, don't get distracted." he laughed, making her increasingly angry.

She charged at full speed toward him, creating dust behind her. Neiyo prepared for her incoming attack; "Smoke bomb!"

He hurled a ball of smoke in front of her, which seemed to teleport her into the air, upside down. Disorientated she screamed as she felt a pain in her back. She was sent flying away into the building again.

Neiyo had used his ability to warp around to his advantage, warping the pink-haired girl in the air, upside down, in order for his boot to oncemore shoot into her back, sending her face first into the building. "I guess this time I win... or we can call it a draw. But I have places to be, till next time." He shot off into the distance, with Benitsubasa raging, having finally gotten up just in time to see him jump away.

Jumping from roof to roof he thought about the events that had taken place that day. _So Minaka knows of my existence now. There's no doubt about that. I guess it's finally time to get involved more. But, we need allies. _

He continued to think whilst travelling, almost missing his step and falling to a street below. "Well that was a close one." he muttered.

_It hurts to think that my daughter is enforcing the rules of this, disgraceful game. But alas, I can't change things right now. Maybe there's a way to reach out to her, maybe not. But one thing's for certain, Minaka is not entirely in control. Otherwise he wouldn't need a squad... and if the squad can be beaten, like I just have, then there's hope._

Neiyo returned to Izumo Inn later than he expected due to the sudden fight that ensued his outing. It had helped his thinking though, gave him a glimmer at the end of a dark tunnel. That this world, that this life, may turn out to be alright in the end.

He walked into his room, receiving a prompt slap around the face from Murasaki. "I was worried sick about you! What the hell were you doing!?"

He felt his face, where her hand had fallen on his skin. It felt sore, but, more painful than anything from combat.

_Am I feeling her pain from my absence? Her worry, her fear of me disappearing on her? _The revelation in his head appearing in the form of an angry blue-haired, scarlet eyed girl in front of him.

"Mura, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that... I just needed some time to think." he replied, embracing her in a hug, trying not to hug so tight that it would end up hurting her.

She relaxed, feeling his arms around her. "It's alright... but I wish you'd open up more to me. I know there's things you're not telling me and I want to help you, especially if we are supposed to be together "now and forever"."

Those words rang through his ears. "I-I know. But you must realize that some things are dangerous for you to know. Especially a lot of the knowledge that I have. So for your own sake, for your own protection, don't ask. I will tell you all in good time."

They separated from each other, and Neiyo took off his jacket and undershirt, revealing his scarred back and side to her. "But I'm pretty sure I remember you asking me how I got these scars, correct?"

She nodded, waiting to hear the story that would be forthcoming.

"I had a friend once, who was very close to me. And it wasn't always like that. We were part of different military organizations on our homeworld. We met in combat, and I won in the end. He spent the rest of the time of the war in a jail cell."

He paused, Mura's eyes unwaivering to his story, wanting to know more.

Neiyo continued after seeing her face, the look of intrigue expressed on it. "I visited him week after week. For what reason, I don't really know. I felt such a connection to him, like a kindred spirit if you will. We spoke, and got to know each other. He told me about his family and friends... about unborn child."

"I disobeyed my commanders orders by speaking to him, and even snuck in a comlink so he could speak to his family. Even I was surprised when he introduced me as a friend. After a few months, the war ended with a peace agreement because the bloodshed was increasing far over the limits of what anyone would've wanted."

"What happened to him?" Mura interrupted.

"He joined the military and served with me. We became inseparable, like brothers in arms. Of course we were both Sekirei. I had the power of smoke element as you know, he had Lunar power. He could call upon lunar beams from the sky. It was an interesting ability, one I wouldn't have seen the potential of if we hadn't fought."

He sighed, his voice started to fill with sorrow; "In the end we had to evacuate, and well, we arrived on earth. But, what I'm about to tell you cannot go outside this room. His daughter lives on, in this city as one of the 108 Sekirei. I intend to protect her as if she were my own. I owe it to him. I vowed to him..."

_Oh Neiyo... _

The burdens of her life partner finally reaching the surface. "I'm sorry. I never meant to probe an answer like that... Only tell me things when you're ready. I won't force you. But I want to help you, any way I can."

They hugged again before retiring for the night. Neiyo actually slept a little easier from releasing one of the darker secrets to someone he cared for. But Mura however, had trouble. Mainly from worry, what would unfold, how could she help, what had she gotten herself into. She looked up to see the side of Neiyo's face, so serene and relaxed.

She shrugged off the nervousness and worry of the future. _No matter what comes, I will be by your side... I... I love you._

**Author's Note: **Hey readers, I hope you enjoyed the more action packed side of this chapter and finally getting to see Neiyo's background a little more. Again as said in previous chapters **reviews and critiques** helps my writing and where to go with the story so please don't be afraid to suggest things.


	8. Author's Note

Sorry to all the readers, but I have decided to do a new fanfiction that I've had an idea for. I wasn't getting any responses or reviews so I don't know how popular this got or if anyone liked it but I will suspend it for now until further notice.

Should people ask for it to be continued I'll consider it but for now I'm working on something new.

G'day and take it easy!


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